Talks on Timor oil

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East Timorese and Australian negotiators met in Sydney yesterday
to start three days of talks which both sides hope will end in a
final agreement over the sharing of gas and oil revenue from the
Timor Sea.

Late last month the two countries reached consensus over the
lucrative resources, with East Timor agreeing to put on hold for 50
to 60 years a final settlement on its maritime boundaries with
Australia.

In exchange, Australia said it would give East Timor a greater
share of revenue from the Greater Sunrise field, amounting to
between US$2 billion ($2.58 billion) and $US5 billion.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
said there had been "substantial agreement on all major issues" and
that "most key elements have now been incorporated into a draft
text".

An agreement, if finalised, would allow Woodside to go ahead
with plans for a multibillion-dollar gas project in the disputed
area.

In East Timor, the capital, Dili, remained calm despite warnings
of a possible terrorist attack or bombing on a government building
there issued by Australia's Foreign Affairs Department on Tuesday
night.